Germany shatters England 4-1

Johannesburg, Jun 28: Germany marched into the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup 2010 after thumping old-time rivals England 4-1 on Sunday, Jun 27 in Bloemfontein.

The return of Miroslav Klose, who was prevented from playing the last match in Group stage by a red card, seemed to bolster the German team. Klose charged past the English defence and took the lead for the Germans in 20th minute.

Klose also played a very key role in the second goal when he passed the ball to Thomas Mueller, who drilled into the England defence and passed over the ball to Lukas Podolski who scored another one for the Germans in the 37th minute.

England which was desperately looking to bridge the 2-0 gap scored its first and the only goal in the first half.

However, Germany fed on the fear and the panic of the English and followed the second half with two goals in quick session within four minutes. Both the last two goals were converted by Mueller, who swept past the defence, stunned the England goal-keeper David James and showing the world what a blitzkrieg is.

As his boys secured a decisive lead with over twenty minutes to go, German coach Joachim Löw expressed confidence in sailing through to the next round by substituting his two stars Klose and Muller.

With the referee blowing the whistle, one of the most exciting match of the 19th FIFA World Cup came to an end with Germans walking with their heads held high after having defeated their old time adversaries.

The match was especially exciting due to the long-time rivalry between Germany and England. And England's hope to taste sweet revenge in the 2010 tournament after Germans thrashed them in a penalty shootout in the semifinals of the 1990 was shattered mercilessly.

OneIndia News